


(Halloween) Night Begins to Descend

by yet_he_was_intrepid



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 08:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yet_he_was_intrepid/pseuds/yet_he_was_intrepid
Summary: Halloween shenanigans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miaulementt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miaulementt/gifts).



> I tried.

Cosette twirled, giggling, in front of her ornate bedroom mirror as she watched her skirt float around her knees, its golden trim sparkling in the sunlight pouring in through the window. It was her first Halloween following her adoption, and the first Halloween that she would be able to remember celebrating; this being the case, her adoptive father had done everything within his power to ensure that her first Halloween was unforgettable. From her extravagant costume to the almost-excessive amount of decorations that he had spent hours adorning his home - no, _their_ _home_ \- with, no expense had been spared.

Of course, she wasn’t quite fond of the feeling of pumpkin innards squishing between her fingers, but one has to experience it at least once, right? At least the jack o’ lanterns had turned out well.

* * *

Courfeyrac kept a firm-but-gentle grip on Marius’ hand, eagerly him down the hallway to the bathroom. They had been planning Halloween night for _weeks_ , and, now that the day was finally here, he could barely contain his giddiness.

“Okay, Marius!” Courfeyrac beamed, gesturing enthusiastically towards the bathroom, “Your costume is in there - I asked my mom to iron it for you, which she did, and I think that she hung it up on the back of the door.”

“Thank you,” Marius mumbled before slipping through the doorway.

Courfeyrac smirked, rushing into his bedroom so that he, too, could put on his costume.

* * *

With one final snip of the scissors, Éponine held her costume up so that she could see the results of her handiwork. The holes that she had cut in the sheets were crude, with the material already fraying around their edges, but they needed only to serve their purpose for the duration of the night. It was, by no means, extravagant, but she still took some pride in the fact that she was able to scrounge up enough sheets for Azelma, Gavroche, and herself within the duration of one week. Montparnasse had, she knew for fact, somehow managed to not only find himself not only a costume, but makeup, as well. What did it matter? The end result, would be the same - the end result being the pillowcase full of candy that she was sure that she would attain by the end of the night.

* * *

Enjolras, Combeferre, and Jehan all stood in the middle of Enjolras’ family room, admiring each others’ costumes. Enjolras, far more precocious than most of his peers, had become Saint-Just for the evening; when he had asked his mother for help in assembling his costume, she was a bit baffled by his request - yet, she was not entirely surprised. Combeferre, in his perpetual love for philosophy and for science, had opted for Democritus, fake beard and all. He had already accepted his fate of being unrecognizable - yet, he was content with his choice. Jehan’s costume, while far more recognizable than Combeferre’s, was still rather ambiguous to those unfamiliar with Greek epics. It seemed that everything was as it should be, so they shifted their attention to their next task: filling the large dish that was to be set outside with the ever-essential array of candy.

* * *

It seemed that, once more, Halloween would come and go and that the police would, once more, need someone to be on duty in order to ensure that no issues arose; as Javert was one of the only childless members of the local police force, it was natural that he would have been one of those officers delegated with the ever-important task of patrolling the suburbs. He didn’t mind - to him, it was just another night, even if the town would be bustling with more activity than usual. Still, there was some sentiment deep within the inspector, something that he wished he could kill, that craved nothing more than a night spent at home and in the company of a mug of spiked coffee. Dealing with the crowds, while ensuring that he had something to do, was not something about which he was entirely enthusiastic. He placed the paperwork that he had previously been preoccupied with aside, and, rubbing his temples, he began to plan the night’s patrol route.

* * *

Valjean lovingly embraced his adoptive daughter before lifting her into the air and spinning her in his arms. She, with her smile as radiant as the celestial bodies above, wrapped her tiny arms around his neck before giving him an affectionate peck on the cheek.

“Are you ready, Cosette?” he asked, setting her down and holding his hand out to her.

Cosette nodded eagerly, thrusting her hand into his and practically dragging him out the door as he chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

“Enjolras, Combeferre, Jehan! I didn’t expect to see you all here!” 

They turned to find themselves face-to-face with Joly, Bossuet, and what appeared to be an almost exact replica of the ham costume from  _ To Kill A Mockingbird _ \- they could only assume that it was Grantaire, and their assumptions were almost immediately confirmed when he rattled off a particularly awful pun. 

“Jehan, I see that you’ve once more adopted the guise of a Homeric hero,” he remarked, to which Prouvaire replied with a bubbly “Indeed, I have!” 

“Would you like to join us?” Enjolras offered.

“We would be glad to!” chimed in Bossuet, who had been admiring Combeferre’s costume. 

“Come along, then!” 

And so, the group of friends went along their merry way.

* * *

 

The night had just begun for Courfeyrac and Marius, who, despite already having collected a bit of candy, had not yet had any candy actually make it into their bags; they had skipped dessert for this exact reason. Even if Marius was a bit too small for his costume - his hat fell over his eyes with every step he took and he had already almost tripped over the hem of his pants - he was enjoying the time that he was able to spend with his closest friend. 

“Marius! Look over there!” Courfeyrac exclaimed, pointing. 

Across the street stood Bahorel and Feuilly, the former a bit difficult to recognize due to the fact that the lower half of his face was concealed by the mouthguard of a football helmet. Feuilly noticed them almost immediately and waved them over. 

“It’s nice to see the both of you!” greeted Marius. He had only moved to the neighborhood a few months ago, and Courfeyrac was glad to see that he still seemed to be getting along with everyone. 

“You, too!” replied Feuilly.

Bahorel pulled them all into a hug. “Should we walk together? We were just about to head over to the next neighborhood.”

“I’m really sorry, Bahorel, but I think my mom wanted me to stay in this one and, while I would  _ like  _ to go,  _ somebody _ ,” Courfeyrac complained, gesticulating towards Marius, “doesn’t want to get on my mother’s bad side; I can appreciate it, but, at the same time, is it really necessary? Thanks for the offer, though!”

“Oh, it’s alright - maybe next year, then! Have fun!” said Feuilly. 

Courfeyrac and Marius had only just left when a young girl, accompanied by someone who gave the impression of being her father, yelled out to Bahorel: “I like your costume!”

* * *

 

Already, the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, the clouds in the sky now glowing with vibrant golds, oranges, and pinks. Shadows began to darken and elongate on the ground, and Javert knew that, if it was even possible, he would have to be even more vigilant as night descended upon the town. Even so, he had been patrolling for hours and nothing had particularly struck him as being a potential danger. He had seen his fair share of oddities, such as the shapeless and rather awkward form labelled “ham” across the front, but it seemed that all was well. Satisfied, he decided to move onto the next neighborhood on his patrol route.

* * *

 

Éponine, though she would never admit to it, deeply regretted her decision to accompany Montparnasse on Halloween night. It had been a bit more than an hour since they had started walking, and he had been talking about himself and his costume for almost the entirety of that time. She, as well as her two younger siblings, suffered immense boredom and disinterest as he continued to drone on and on. 

“I have collected much more candy this year than I have in previous years, and I really do believe that I owe it to the amount of time and money that went into…  _ Éponine, are you even listening to me? _ ”

The corners of Montparnasse’s mouth turned downwards, forming a scowl; she merely shrugged in response. He opened his mouth, determined to continue, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of two figures, one of who Éponine recognized as Marius; the other’s face was obscured by bright magenta shades, a yellow morph suit, and a banana-shaped tunic. He was taller and seemingly more extroverted than Marius, as he was quick to speak up. 

“Forgive me for intruding, but my friend and I couldn’t help but to overhear your conversation. You really think that your costume is getting you special treatment, huh?” He offered Montparnasse a rascally smirk before continuing, “I’m willing to bet that you’re wrong.” 

_ “Oh, really?” _

“Yep! Just tell me what you’ll want from me if you win, and I’ll tell you what I’ll want from you if you win. Is that alright?”

“I suppose so,” sighed Montparnasse as he rolled his eyes, and, in the process of doing so, catching sight of Marius’ bag of candy, “I think I know what I would like, should I win. I’d like all of the candy you collect tonight, as well as his.” 

He motioned towards Marius, who looked pleadingly towards his friend. 

“Okay!”

At this, the color drained from Marius’ face, but he was shushed before he could protest.

“This needs to be fair, though. Hmmm… if I win, I want you to give your candy to someone else - the two kids over there! I like that idea!” he mused, gesturing to Gavroche and Azelma, “That’s not enough. The costume started this, and it should be involved in the end of it. Don’t you think that’s fitting? I think, if I win, I would like to trade a part of my costume for your cape and vest, and we would both have to wear them for the rest of the night. Is that a deal?”

It was Montparnasse’s turn to grow pale, though it was difficult to tell due to the sheer amount of makeup that he wore. The idea of spending the rest of the night looking like an abnormally large fruit was not one he enjoyed entertaining - still, he would never forgive himself for backing out. It would mean that he was a coward. He held out his hand for the other and, with a firm handshake, the bet was made.

“I’m Courfeyrac, by the way. Now, we should probably lay down some simple rules. We’ll meet here at nine o’clock, a few hours from now. We can only take what we are given or what is allowed, and we can only go to each house one time. If the rules are broken, that’s a loss. Are you still in?”

Montparnasse nodded.

“Alright! We’ll see you in a few hours!”

* * *

 

After hours and hours of less productive trick-or-treating than Montparnasse would have preferred - he did have a bet to win, after all - he, Azelma, Éponine, and Gavroche had finally reached the wealthiest neighborhood in town. Someone was bound to be handing out king-sized sweets; sure enough, the first house that they approached not only had a bowl full of large candies on the porch, but the bowl bore a sign that read: “Please take one,” followed by a doodle of a smiling face. It appeared that nobody stood watch over the bowl of sweets - it didn’t even appear that anybody was in the house.

Montparnasse could hardly believe his luck. Perhaps taking the entire bowl would violate the rules of the bet, but he had never been one to adhere to rules that he found inconvenient. It was only considered cheating if he was caught in the act, right? 

He waited until Éponine had turned away from him so that she could whisper something to Azelma before holding open his pillowcase and discreetly dumping the entire contents of the bowl into it. Gavroche, who observed him with wide eyes, gently tugged on the fabric of Éponine’s costume and immediately pointed at Montparnasse as the last of the candy fell into his pillowcase. Montparnasse froze in place at the very millisecond that he felt Éponine’s eyes boring into him, a feeling of dread washing over him as he processed what he had brought upon himself.

Éponine tsked at him.

* * *

 

“Pay up, ‘Parnasse.”

Montparnasse irritably glared at Éponine, who smirked and motioned at him to hurry, as he removed his cape and vest. She tried to stifle her laughter with her hand, though she was unsuccessful at hiding her amusement over the whole ordeal. Gavroche, though not entirely sure what was happening, was contented by the pillowcase bursting with candy that was now in his possession and watched with wide eyes as he snacked on its contents, which he shared with Azelma. 

Unlike Éponine, Courfeyrac made no attempt to hide his enjoyment of the situation. With Marius’ help, he slipped out of the bulky tunic. Even though his face was concealed by his bright yellow body suit, his cackling was more than audible. Once Montparnasse’s costume had been reduced to nothing more than a crisp blouse and a pair of trousers, Marius handed him the tunic, and, being on the receiving end of one of his scowls, stepped away and stared at the pavement as soon as he had given him the offending article of clothing. Éponine hopped onto a decoratively-placed rock behind him so that she could stand above him, and, once passed the tunic, slipped it over his head and stepped back to marvel at the result of the bet. Montparnasse, with his face still covered in pale makeup and fake blood, was absolutely livid as he stood motionless, seemingly consumed by the large, banana-shaped tunic. Once Courfeyrac had donned his new garments, he was an equally strange sight -  the dramatic cape and dark vest that now adorned his yellow morph sharply contrasted his magenta shutter-shades. 

Courfeyrac held out his hand to Montparnasse, who reluctantly and rigidly shook it before walking off, his face expressionless. 

“Thank you,” Éponine said, waving towards Courfeyrac and Marius.

“Don’t mention it!” Courfeyrac beamed, grabbing for Marius’ hand and leading him toward his house. “Happy Halloween!” 

“Happy Halloween!” 

With that, Éponine lifted her pillowcase over her shoulder and ushered her siblings from their seats on the curb. 

“Are you both ready?” she asked.

Azelma nodded and, though Gavroche was too preoccupied with his treasure trove of sweets to give a response, Éponine assumed that he, too, was ready to head home, and so they began the long tread home.

* * *

 

Cosette rested her head on Valjean’s shoulder, her eyes closed, as he carried her back home. 

“Did you have a good Halloween, Cosette?” he whispered, wishing not to wake her in if she was asleep.

She muttered a drowsy “mhm” before growing silent once more, drifting into a sound slumber within her father’s arms. 


End file.
